Sometimes I have the feeling I’m walking around in a fairy tale.

Being a twin is always quite fascinating but in China it gets an extra dimension when being so lucky to give birth to multiples, in regards to the one-child policy which still applies to most chinese citizens.

And a lonesome deer I encountered in a pharmacy.

It’s simply too cold to work so I decided to do different things such as finding the book: ‘Caochangdi, Beijing inside out’. I knew a bookstore that sold it, I even figured out how to get there using 3 different subway lines (yes I was really proud of myself), I got out at the right stop and then it was nowhere to be seen. Gave up after asking a zillion people who all directed me different ways. Tomorrow I’ll try again but this time I might check the directions on the website.

This is the fan that keeps me warm it’s amazing and today indeed I flooded the bathroom… again !

Exhibition openings at the Three Shadows Photography art centre and The Platform China.

Entrance to the Today Art Museum offices with a work of Yeh Yu- Hsuan.

CAFA, museum, ‘End of the world’. The work reminds me of things I’ve seen from Anish Kapoor.

W.Y in front of ‘End of the world’

Yesterday I had a nice thought while passing this place: ‘it’s impossible for me to get lost in BJ; since I don’t have a clue where I am to begin with’.
I found it a very comforting thought, so now I can wonder around for 3 months without worrying too much about directions.

Stairs in the Dongdan Sports Centre swimming pool. Totally Yayoi Kusama going geometric. The sign is -I guess- literally translated out of Chinese, you see that a lot. This one is almost poetic. The pool is great, at least twice the size of our petite 25meter pools. So now there are no excuses for not following my training schedule.

798 is the old bomb & ammunition factory area turned into an art district. Although it stills hosts some nice galleries and museum (UCCA) it’s really commercial nowadays. I was passing by this morning and found out it’s also very popular with newly weds for taking bridal pictures.

They call it ‘walking your bird’ (forgot the chinese name). I’ve seen men before bringing their birds to an outdoor game of checkers but I’ve never seen them hang on trees in a group.

For the Dutch Cultural Media Fund (Mediafonds) book assignment I had to do some hard core photo selecting. 15 projects with numerous fine pics. As they say: kill your darlings. These weird stills are among the unfortunate ones that didn’t make it.

So it finally looks like winter is over. This morning I woke up at 6.30 by the singing of a lonely bird! Only nice thing about winter are these fine mittens made by old Lithuanian women. Jan gave me the brown with pink ones. Funny thing is they kind of are ambidextrous since the thumb is in the middle of the mitten. So it always feels a bit funny when you wear hem. I have a habit of losing gloves but with these beauties I make sure not to leave them behind.